


why wish on one thousand when you only need a lucky one

by dastardlyenables



Series: (Ab)Normal Horoscopes [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Don't copy to another site, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 12:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dastardlyenables/pseuds/dastardlyenables
Summary: Kisame's only warning is a long shadow, like the outstretched wing of a crane, passing over the river.Kisame's just trying to take a nap.  Too bad someone picked this bend of the river to practice.





	why wish on one thousand when you only need a lucky one

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the following prompt from Normal Horoscopes on tumblr
> 
> **Aries** Knights in ornate silver armor with masks like a beak. Their unusual curved glaives resemble an outstretched crane's wing. Each piece of the maille sharpened to a razor's edge.

KIsame's only warning is a long shadow, like the outstretched wing of a crane, passing over the river. The wingtips skin along the surface, and he only just catches the ominous glint of refracted sunlight, before feathers of steel—not plumage—cuts through the water like a darting minnow, just barely missing the vestigial gills upon his shoulders. The skin there is soft, tender. Still flush with capillaries that lie too close to the surface, from a time when they were meant to absorb oxygen from the water streaming against them.

Kisame dives back down, deep, beyond the reach of the naginata blade, eyes scanning the surface of the water below, until he can trace back the naginata's shadow to that of it's wielder, standing on spindle-legs in the reeds near the bank. He draws back, then lunges, flying out of the water with teeth and sword bared. Samehada's segmented-scale blade catches against feather-steel, and Kisame is forced back. He lets himself skid across the surface of the water, and readies his stance, preparing to charge again, when the knight stumbles back, tripping and falling to their ass in the shallows, hands flailing up with frantic waving in surrender.

Kisame stops, and the crane-knight tosses their crane's-wing blade back to the bank behind them. Hands in gauntlets of razor-feather, scale maille links that match the rest of the armor struggle with the red-crested helm and it's long spindle-like beak. At last, the knight manages to yank the helm from his head. And it is a man, with hair black like the ink of crane-tip feathers, messy and wild—sticking up in odd places from the press of the helm. His face is scarred, and his skin a mottled mix, half tanned and half an unnatural, snow-plumage white. He turns to Kisame with his wide-open crane-eyes, deep black pupils swallowing a crimson-iris rim, and Kisame tries to hold on to his anger and pretends that his heart doesn't skip half a beat faster at the beauty of him.

"Shit, oh gods, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" He's practically stumbling over his words, the crane-knight, as he scrambles back up to his feet, red-crested helm tossed aside with his naginata. He walks up to Kisame fearlessly, yet flits around him half-frantic, as if attempting to check for injuries. "I'm so, _so_ sorry. I was trying to practice my forms, since I'm terrible at them—obviously, since I almost– I didn't know anyone was here." He bites his lip, concerned and embarrassed both, and Kisame is helpless as his anger melts away.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, no worries." Kisame slings Samehada back across his shoulders and raises a hand, placating.

"Oh-thank-god," the crane-knight heaves out in one great sigh of relief. Then, he bows, formal and proper, and offers out his arm to clasp, razor-feathered maille lying tucked-flat. "I'm Obito. Sorry to, uh, disturb your spot.

"Kisame. 'ts no harm done," Kisame demure, as he clasps back tightly, bare shark-skin scraping against the polished metal feathers, before he tilts his head back towards Obito's discarded helm and naginata. "Crane, huh? I must be very lucky."

"What?" Obito tilts his head like a curious bird, and Kisame stifles his laugh with a smirk and a wink.

"Instead of a lazy nap in the river, I get some surprise exercise, and I meet a cute knight, to boot."

Obito splutters, and deep, rich red spreads across his face, from the bridge of his nose to the tips of his ears, brighter even than the crimson plume of his helm-crest, but he leans in when Kisame dips his head down all the same.


End file.
